Category: Wildlife

Goldfinch

Virtual Owl Workshop Friday-Saturday

Northern Saw-whet Owls are among the stars of the show during this week’s Virtual Owl Workshop.

All About Owls is a two-day virtual workshop available via Zoom this Friday and Saturday, February 19 & 20. Offered by a leading owl banding and research center, the Hawk Ridge Bird Observatory in Duluth, Minnesota, participants will explore the 19 species of owls found in the United States as masters of camouflage with amazing physical adaptations and lifestyles that make them top of the line predators from the smallest to the largest species. Learn how some owls are migrants, some are residents, and explore general identification keys, including plumage and calls. Plus the workshop will highlight some of the long-term and current research efforts studying owls that are underway at Hawk Ridge.

The Zoom workshop will take place Friday February 19th from 6:30 to 8:30pm, and Saturday February 20th from 9:30 to 11:30am and from 1:00 to 3:00pm. Sessions will be interactive and include stretch breaks, and time for discussions. To learn more about the All About Owls Virtual Workshop, see https://www.hawkridge.org/event/all-about-owls-two-day-virtual-workshop-with-optional-add-on-field-trip/?instance_id=3399

Wildlife

Nighthawk Migration & Wintering Areas

Common Nighthawks primarily migrate to Brazil during North America’s winter season (photo by Paul Konrad).
Maps showing the migration routes of Common Nighthawks during fall (left) and spring (right).
Common Nighthawks are especially had to find when they are not in flight, owing to their cryptically colored plumage (photo by Paul Konrad).

A new cooperative research project conducted by representatives of several organizations helped to attach new miniature GPS-satellite tags on 52 Common Nighthawks at 13 locations across the species’ expansive nesting range to better understand where these birds spend their time throughout the year. The study provided insights about their ecology, especially during winter and migration periods. Common Nighthawks are one of the Western Hemisphere’s most widespread migratory species, yet we know little about them after they leave their nesting sites.

The study was initiated by the Migratory Connectivity Project at the Smithsonian Migratory Bird Center, and co-led with the department of Environment and Climate Change Canada and the University of Alberta. Their new research publication has just been released this month in the scientific journal Ecography. Recent estimates indicate that Common Nighthawks have declined by more than 50 percent during the past 40 years. Nighthawks are aerial insectivores – birds that catch insects in flight – a group that is declining faster than any other group of birds in Canada. Read more

Wildlife

Wyoming: Annual Grizzly Bear Capture Report Available

CHEYENNE – The 2020 Annual Report of Grizzly Bear Management Captures, Relocations and Removals completed by the Wyoming Game and Fish Department is now available on the department website. The annual report is required by state statute and quantifies management actions by the Game and Fish in relation to grizzly bear conflict resolution in Wyoming outside the National Parks and Wind River Reservation.

Because grizzly bears remain under federal protection, Game and Fish manages grizzly bears in Wyoming under the direction of the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service. During 2020, in response to over 200 conflicts, Game and Fish captured 26 individual grizzly bears in an attempt to prevent or resolve them. Most captures were adult males.

“In comparison to some previous years, we had relatively low conflict in suitable habitat for bears,” said Brian DeBolt, large carnivore conflict coordinator. “Game and Fish tries to mitigate conflicts with proactive strategies and a great deal of educational efforts for people living, working and recreating in these areas. However, sometimes a direct management action is necessary to minimize human-bear conflicts.” Read more

Wildlife

It’s Time for Big Nest Boxes

A rufous morph Eastern Screech Owl peers from a big nest box (photo by Kurt Hasselman).
Installing a big nest box provides a safe nesting site, which is increasingly scarce in nature for cavity nesting owls, ducks, and kestrels.

It’s time to get started early to attract cavity nesting birds like owls, ducks, and kestrels to big nest boxes, to benefit these birds with the best and safest possible nesting sites. Whether you plan to build a big nest box, or a number of them; or if you plan to buy a big nest box, now’s the time to follow through on your plans. Maybe you already have a big nest box or two installed on your property or at another site, or maybe this article will provide some inspiration for you to add a big nest box to your property to try to attract a nesting pair of owls, kestrels, or ducks.

Installing a big nest box is among the highest levels of dedication for any birder to accomplish, for it provides a much-needed enhancement for the welfare of the 2021 nesting season – and for years to come. The larger cavity nesting birds – owls, ducks, and kestrels – primarily rely on large natural holes in tree trunks and large cavities in branches, but these are not always safe from predators like raccoons and tree squirrels. Good nesting cavities are few and far between, and are obvious limiting factors for birds interested in nesting in a given area – there’s a lot of competition for limited existing nesting cavities.

Therefore, birders can – and do – provide auxiliary nesting sites in the form of “big nest boxes,” oversized bird houses that are better and safer than most available natural cavities. Plus, big nest boxes provide off-season roosting sites for owls, which makes any big nest box doubly valuable – and a super addition to your yard or property. And much of the fun is that you never know how the interesting birds that a big nest box attracts will enhance your birding experiences. Gosh, who wouldn’t enjoy monitoring screech owls, a nesting Wood Duck, or the activities of a pair of American Kestrels raising a brood of mini-falcons in a big nest box that you provide. Read more

Wildlife

NDA Applauds Interior Order to Strengthen Land & Water Conservation Fund

The National Deer Association (NDA) applauds the recent announcement of Secretarial Order 3396 (SO 3396) by U.S. Department of the Interior (DOI), which revokes an order signed last November that imposed new restrictions to inhibit the availability of Land and Water Conservation Fund (LWCF) funding for federal land and water acquisitions.

“SO 3396 is a necessary action to strengthen the LWCF and ensure efficient and effective implementation of the Great American Outdoors Act,” said Torin Miller, NDA’s Director of Policy. “The availability of conservation funding at both the state and federal levels, including funds for the acquisition of lands and waters for the public benefit, is something all hunters should celebrate.” Read more

Wildlife

Nebraska Game and Parks offering monarch butterfly workshop for educators

LINCOLN, Neb. – Educators interested in incorporating monarch butterflies into their teaching are invited to a free virtual workshop March 16 and 23.

During the Monarchs on a Mission workshop, participants will explore the life cycle, migration, habitat requirements and conservation concerns of the monarch butterfly. The workshop incorporates inquiry-based, hands-on activities covering subjects such as math, science, art and language arts.

The workshop, which will be held from 6-8 p.m. Central time, is designed for after-school groups and formal and informal educators who work with students in grades pre-K to sixth grade. Participants will receive a curriculum guide, insect identification guide and four hours of approved in-service. Read more

Wildlife

DS4K Ultimate by Stealth Cam

Irving, TX– Stealth Cam® takes their standout 4K camera to the next level with the brand new DS4K Ultimate! Optimizing the groundbreaking DS4K technology that has set them apart in the industry, the new Ultimate sets a new standard and is at the forefront of professional grade trail cameras.

The all new DS4K Ultimate advances the technology even further than previous models by delivering stunning Ultra High Definition 4K video at 30 frames per second; day and night. The crystal-clear audio enhances the footage and creates a broadcast quality video experience for the users.

Standard features include ultra high-speed trigger, burst mode technology, and PIR combo mode, featuring the best of both worlds with a high-resolution image followed by an HD video in the same triggering. The DS4K Ultimate is engineered to record at multiple resolutions; 4K/QHD/1080P/720P video, 32MP/16MP/8MP/4MP still images and is capable of 1-59 sec / 1-59-minute recovery times and a 100ft detection range. Read more

Hunting, Wildlife

Michigan: listen for frogs and toads this spring

You can help track frog and toad population trends in Michigan by listening for their calls this spring. Data is collected throughout the state, and anyone who is interested is welcome to participate. Frog and toad survey data collection takes place April through July, so now is the perfect time to plan your survey route and brush up on frog and toad calls!

Find the frog and toad survey instructions and route description form, along with calls and other information, on our Michigan’s Frogs and Toads page.

Email DNR-FrogSurvey@Michigan.gov with your survey route or questions. New survey routes should be submitted by April for approval. Survey routes should include 10 different stops that will be surveyed three times during the survey period.

Wildlife

Michigan: mowing snow for butterflies

After a flurry of snow covered the Flat River State Game Area, DNR staff mowed over the snow to benefit the federally endangered Karner blue butterfly. These pale blue, dime-sized butterflies can only be found in small pockets of savanna habitat where wild lupine grows in the open sunlight. Karner blues depend on lupine for survival, as females lay their eggs on the plant and emerging caterpillars feed on the leaves.

mowed snowFor Karner blue butterfly populations to thrive, the area must be periodically burned with fire or mowed to remove any large woody species that may cast shade on the lupine. To protect the lupine and over-wintering egg clutches, mowing can only occur when at least 4 inches of snow has accumulated. This winter habitat management activity will produce flourishing native wildflowers and fluttering insects this spring and summer.

Learn more about the Karner blue butterfly.

Wildlife

Bats in your building? Now’s the time to check

The Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission (FWC) is reminding property owners to check your home and other man-made structures for bats. If you find any, you still have time to exclude them before bat maternity season begins.

Bat maternity season is the time when bats gather to give birth and raise their young, and it runs from April 15 through Aug. 15. During this time, it is illegal to block bats from their roosts. If bats are excluded during maternity season, flightless young can become trapped inside the structure and die. Therefore, now is the time to check your home for any entry points, ensure that no bats are present and make any necessary repairs. Read more

Wildlife
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